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Listening - Section 1

Questions 1-5
Circle the appropriate letters A-D.

Section 1:
You are going to listen to a telephone conversation between two people, Hannah and her father.
As you can see, there are four alternative answers A, B, C and D for each question 1 to 5.
You have to decide which alternative is the most suitable answer, and circle the appropriate letter.

First you have some time to look at Questions 1-5.

Now Listen carefully and answer Questions 1 to 5:

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Example:

Hannah's Dad

A can hear her very well.


B cannot hear her very well.
C wants her to move.
D says the line is clear.

1) How long did Hannah think it would take her to find a place to live?

A three weeks

B less than three weeks

C more than three weeks

D more than four weeks

Hannah says she didn't think it was going to take her three weeks. From the conversation we can
see that this is how long it actually took.

2) There is not enough accommodation to rent because


A it is the end of the academic year.

B Hannah is a new student.

C the area has lots of new technology companies.

D the town is small.

Hannah's father says it is because there are a lot of new students. Hannah agrees that is one
reason, but then gives the number of new technology companies as the main reason, so B is
incorrect. A and D are incorrect as neither of them are mentioned.

3) 400 a month for rent is

A higher than Hannah has paid before.

B lower than Hannah has paid before.

C not cheap for the area.

D cheap for the area.

Hannah says It isn't cheap for this area. There is no mention of what she has paid before, so A
and B are incorrect. D is the opposite of C.

4) At the moment Hannah is living

A in a hostel.

B in a suitcase.

C in a hotel.

D in a flat.

Hannah says I don't want to stay in this hotel any longer, so A is not correct. The new
accommodation is a flat and she wants to stop living out of a suitcase, so B and D are incorrect.

5) Hannah's new flat

A is a bit noisy.

B is on the second floor.

C has two bedrooms.

D has a large roof terrace.


Hannah says her new flat is on the second floor. It is in a quiet street, so A is not correct; it has
one double bedroom so C is incorrect. D is not right because the roof terrace is small.

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Test Tip
IELTS Listening Section 1 will often contain a number and/or a name that you need to write. The names
may be spelt for you. Before you listen to the recording, look carefully at the questions to see which ones
will need a number or name. If you hear triple three, you should write 333. If you hear double n, you
should write nn.

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Questions 6 and 7

Complete Dad's note.

Hannah's address:
6) ........................................ Whitehart Road

7) ........................................ 9RJ.

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Questions 8-10

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS to complete each space.

8) Hannah plans to travel to her parents' house on Friday evening after work.
Hannah hopes to travel to her parents' house on Friday evening after she has finished her work,
and then bring her things down on Saturday afternoon.
9) Hannah's Dad will return the van on saturday evening.
Hannah says she hopes to move her things on Saturday afternoon, but her father says he will pick
the van up in the morning and then return it in the evening. He doesn't want to stay overnight.
10 The journey time is about 3/three hours.
He says the journey is about three hours by road. The phrase 'by road' cannot be used here as the
word limit would be exceeded.

Section 2:
You are going to hear a news broadcast about proposed developments in a local area, and about a local
college.
First look at questions 11 to 14.

Circle FOUR letters A-H.

Which FOUR planned developments are mentioned?

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A a village town hall

B a leisure centre

C a play area for children

D a hospital

E an industrial development

F extra houses

G a steel works

H a motorway

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Questions 15-18
Tick Column A if the individual is in favour of the proposals.

Tick Column B if the individual is against the proposals.


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A B

Example: The local farmer

15) The Mayor

16) The conservation group spokesman

17) The local MP

18) The local shopkeeper

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15 A: Mr Funn, the Mayor, supports the planned developments.


16 A: The spokesman for the conservation group also supports the plans. Note that
the speaker is surprised by this.
17 B: The local MP is against the plans.
18 B: The local shopkeeper is also against the proposals.

Questions 19 and 20
Circle the correct Ietter A-D.

19)Upton is

A close to Tartlesbury.

B far from Tartlesbury.

C connected by rail to Tartlesbury.

D a town with a university.


The phrase the local college in Upton, which is not far from Tartlesbury tells you that A is the
best answer. B is not possible because it is the opposite of the answer. C is not mentioned in the
recording and D is incorrect because it is a college that is mentioned and not a university.

20)The College has

A never had a 100% success rate.

B had a 100% success rate this year.

C always been very successful.

D never been successful.

The key phrase here is this is the first time there has been a 100% success rate at the college,
so A is untrue, as is C. D is incorrect because there is no mention of this.
Section 3:
You are going to listen to a conversation between two students and a tutor. They are talking about essays.
First look at questions 21 to 25.

Write NO MORE THAN FOUR WORDS or A NUMBER for each answer.

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21) How many essays do the students have to write? five/5.


Dr Woodham points out that students have to write five essays over the year/course.
22) What percentage does the written exam account for? 50%/50 per cent.
The written exam accounts for 50% of the final marks and the course work, i.e. the essays, account
for 50%.
23) How many marks did Carl get for his latest essay? eighteen/18.

24) How many marks did Pamela get for her latest essay? fourteen/14.

25) When was the marking system explained before? in the first tutorial.

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Questions 26-30
Complete the table below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

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Carl Pamela

Very good, lots


Research Very good
of 26) relevantexamples

Sources Very sound Very good

Organization Very good 29) excellent

Slightly too informal in some


Writing style 27) (very) elegant
places

Disappointing, but rewrite 28) not


Previous essay 30) much better
possible / impossible

Section 4:
You are going to hear a lecture on life at work which has been given as a part of a series of lectures on
productivity and work practices. First you have some time to look at Questions 31-35.

Now Listen carefully and answer Questions 31 to 35:

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31)The total number of lectures mentioned by the lecturer is

A ten.
B thirteen.

C six.

D eight.

Dr Butt mentions thirteen lectures: ten as part of the course in the morning and three extra
evening lectures. Six to eight is the time of the evening lectures.

32)The lunch break of the average British worker is

A on the increase.

B shorter than it used to be.

C 36 minutes.

D precisely 30 minutes.

The average lunch break has decreased from 36 to 27 minutes, so C is incorrect; A is not
correct as it is sick leave that is on the increase. As for D, the word precise is mentioned, but
the 30 minutes is wrong.

33)Which graph shows the change as regards sick leave?

The key phrase is: the average figure is ten days per year, that's up by one day in 2002
compared to 2001.

34)There will be another lecture on stress in work and study

A given by Professor Butt.

B on the calendar.

C in about a fortnight.

D in a week's time.

There will be a lecture on this topic the week after next, i.e. in about two weeks (a fortnight), so
D is not right. A is incorrect because it is Professor Appleyard who will be giving the lecture. B
does not make sense; the timing of the lecture can be seen on the calendar.

35)Which of the following is mentioned?

A Most workers say they do not take all their holidays.

B Under half of the workers say they do not take all their holidays.

C Employers do not believe workers.

D About a third of healthy workers take days off sick

The key phrase is: just below 50% of workers claim that they were taking less time off for
holidays than they were entitled to. This is a paraphrase of B. A is therefore clearly incorrect. C
is not correct because this is the opinion of the speaker and not a fact, and D is not right
because 'one third' refers to the number of days off sick and not the number of workers.

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Questions 36-39
Complete the table below.

Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS for each answer.

Employees now working (36) beyond their limits physically and mentally

Productivity up in many (37) areas of industry

In 2002, local car plant vehicle per employee on rise to (38) 100

Car industry once though to be (39) collapsing

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Question 40

Choose the correct letter A-D.

40)Dr Butt asks those students to see him who

A want to work at the plant.

B have chosen to do the project.


C want to write extra essays.

D are new.

students who have opted to do the project have reduced the number of essays they have to do
so C is incorrect. A is not right because the speaker says it would be interesting to do a survey
of work life at the plant; it is not an option for the students to work there. D is not mentioned.

Reading Passage 1
ADAM'S WINE

A
Water is the giver and, at the same time, the taker of life. It covers most of the surface of the
planet we live on and features large in the development of the human race. On present
predictions, it is an element that is set to assume even greater significance.

B
Throughout history, water has had a huge impact on our lives. Humankind has always had a
rather ambiguous relationship with water, on the one hand receiving enormous benefit from it,
not just as a drinking source, but as a provider of food and a means whereby to travel and to
trade. But forced to live close to water in order to survive and to develop, the relationship has not
always been peaceful or beneficial. In fact, it has been quite the contrary. What has essentially
been a necessity for survival has turned out in many instances to have a very destructive and life-
threatening side.

C
Through the ages, great floods alternated with long periods of drought have assaulted people and
their environment, hampering their fragile fight for survival. The dramatic changes to the
environment that are now a feature of our daily news are not exactly new: fields that were once
lush and fertile are now barren; lakes and rivers that were once teeming with life are now long
gone; savannah has been turned to desert. What perhaps is new is our naive wonder when faced
with the forces of nature.

D
Today, we are more aware of climatic changes around the world. Floods in far-flung places are
instant hews for the whole world. Perhaps these events make us feel better as we face the
destruction of our own property by floods and other natural disasters.
E
In 2002, many parts of Europe suffered severe flood damage running into billions of euros.
Properties across the continent collapsed into the sea as waves pounded the coastline wreaking
havoc with sea defences. But it was not just the seas. Rivers swollen by heavy rains and by the
effects of deforestation carried large volumes of water that wrecked many communities.

F
Building stronger and more sophisticated river defences against flooding is the expensive short-
term answer. There are simpler ways. Planting trees in highland areas, not just in Europe but in
places like the Himalayas, to protect people living in low-lying regions like the Ganges Delta, is
a cheaper and more attractive solution. Progress is already being made in convincing countries
that the emission of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is causing considerable damage
to the environment. But more effort is needed in this direction.

G
And the future? If we are to believe the forecasts, it is predicted that two-thirds of the world
population will be without fresh water by 2025. But for a growing number of regions of the
world the future is already with us. While some areas are devastated by flooding, scarcity of
water in many other places is causing conflict. The state of Texas in the United States of America
is suffering a shortage of water with the Rio Grande failing to reach the Gulf of Mexico for the
first time in 50 years in the spring of 2002, pitting region against region as they vie for water
sources. With many parts of the globe running dry through drought and increased water
consumption, there is now talk of water being the new oil.

H
Other doom-laden estimates suggest that, while tropical areas will become drier and
uninhabitable, coastal regions and some low-lying islands will in all probability be submerged by
the sea as the polar ice caps melt. Popular exotic destinations now visited by countless tourists
will become no-go areas. Today's holiday hotspots of southern Europe and elsewhere will
literally become hotspots - too hot to live in or visit. With the current erratic behaviour of the
weather, it is difficult not to subscribe to such despair.

I
Some might say that this despondency is ill-founded, but we have had ample proof that there is
something not quite right with the climate. Many parts of the world have experienced devastating
flooding. As the seasons revolve, the focus of the destruction moves from one continent to
another. The impact on the environment is alarming and the cost to life depressing. It is a picture
to which we will need to become accustomed.
Questions 1-8

Reading Passage 1 has eight paragraphs labelled A-I.

Choose the most suitable headings for paragraphs B-I from the list of headings below.

Write the appropriate numbers (i-xiii) in boxes 1-8 on your answer sheet.

One of the headings has been done for you as an example.

Note: There are more headings than paragraphs, so you will not use all of them.

List of Headings
i Environmental change has always been with us
ii The scarcity of water
iii Rivers and seas cause damage
iv Should we be despondent? Or realistic?
v Disasters caused by the climate make us feel better
vi Water, the provider of food
vii What is water?
viii How to solve flooding
ix Far-flung flooding
x Humans' relationship with water
xi The destructive force of water in former times
xii Flooding in the future
xiii A pessimistic view of the future

1 Paragraph B x
The paragraph deals with the dual relationship that humans have with nature.
The answer is not heading (vi) as this is only part of the content of the
paragraph.
2 Paragraph C i
The paragraph talks about the fact that we have always had environmental
changes.
3 Paragraph D v
This paragraph deals with the idea that we feel better about our own property
being destroyed by natural disasters if we are aware that it happens to others
too. Heading (ix) is incorrect as this is only a detail in the paragraph.
4 Paragraph E iii
The paragraph talks about the destruction caused by both rivers and seas.
5 Paragraph F viii
The paragraph gives some solutions to the problem of flooding.
6 Paragraph G ii
This heading is straightforward. Some headings may be relatively
uncomplicated.
7 Paragraph H xiii
The paragraph talks about various negative things that may happen in the
future, not only flooding.
8 Paragraph I iv
The paragraph talks about both of these aspects.
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Example Paragraph A Answer vii

Questions 9-15

Choose the appropriate letters A-D and write them in boxes 9-15 on your answer sheet.

9 The writer believes that water


A is gradually becoming of greater importance.
B will have little impact on our lives in future.
C is something we will need more than anything else.
x D will have even greater importance in our lives in the future.
The answer is to be found in the last sentence of paragraph A. From the same sentence, it can
be seen that A is incorrect - there is no mention of gradually. B is also incorrect because the
opposite is stated. C is not correct because the text does not compare our need for water with
anything else.
10 Humankind's relationship with water has been
x A two-sided.
B one-sided.
C purely one of great benefit.
D fairly frightening.
The answer is in paragraph B. The paragraph describes the two sides (positive and negative) of
humankind's relationship with water. B is therefore incorrect. C is incorrect because the benefit
is only one side of the relationship and D is not clearly mentioned.
11 The writer suggests that
A we are in awe of the news we read and see on TV every day.
B change to the environment leaves us speechless.
C we should not be in awe of the news we read and see on TV every day.
x D our surprise at the environmental change brought about by nature is something new.
The answer can be found at the end of paragraph C in the last sentence. A is not correct as it is
not mentioned, nor is C; and B is wrong because the text says nothing about being left
speechless.
12 According to the text, planting trees
A has to be co-ordinated internationally.
B is more expensive than building sea and river defences.
x C is a less expensive answer to flooding than building river defences.
D is not an answer to the problem of flooding in all regions.
The answer is to be found in paragraph F. A is not correct as it is not mentioned. B is the
opposite of the correct answer and it adds the word sea, whereas the text is talking about rivers
only at this point. D is incorrect as it is not mentioned.
13 By 2025, it is projected that
A at least half the world population will have fresh water.
B the majority of the world population will have fresh water.
x C one-third of the world population will have fresh water.
D fresh water will only be available to half of the world population.
The answer is in paragraph G. The text says that two-thirds of the world population will be
without fresh water, so one-third will have it. Note that A is not possible because, like D, the
numbers do not add up. As regards B, the majority will not have access.
14 According to the text, in the future low-lying islands
A will still be habitable.
B will not be under water.
x C are likely to be under water.
D will probably not be under water.
The answer is in paragraph H. B and D are not correct as they are the opposite of C, and A
cannot be correct if the islands are under water.
15 According to the writer,
A people do not need to get used to environmental damage.
x B people will need to get used to climate changes that cause environmental damage.
C people are now more used to environmental damage than they have been in the past.
D the general despondency about environmental changes is ill-founded.
The answer can be found in the last paragraph of the passage, in the last two sentences. A is
incorrect because, basically, it is the opposite. C is not stated and D is wrong because the end of
the paragraph proves that the phrase at the beginning, Some might say that this despondency is
ill founded, is not actually true. The despondency is well-founded.

Reading Passage 2
Is it any wonder that there are teacher shortages? Daily, the press carries reports of
schools going on four-day weeks simply because they cannot recruit enough teachers. But
why? There is no straightforward answer. For a start, fewer students are entering teacher-
training courses when they leave school. But can you blame young people after the
barracking faced by the teaching profession in the UK over the last decade? The attack,
relentless in the extreme, has been on several fronts. Government inspectors, by accident
or design, have been feeding the media a constant stream of negative information about the
teaching establishments in this country. Teachers also come in for a lot of flak from
politicians. And the government wonders why there are problems in schools.

The government's obvious contempt for the teaching profession was recently revealed
by one of the most powerful people in government when she referred to schools as 'bog
standard comprehensives'. Hardly the sort of comment to inspire parents or careers
advisers seeking to direct young people's future. Would you want to spend your working life
in a dead-end profession? The government doesn't seem to want you to either.

On the administrative side, most teachers are weighed down by an increasing flow of
bureaucracy. Cynicism would have me believe that this stops teachers from fomenting
dissent as they are worn out by useless administrative exercises. Most teachers must then
also be cynics!

Teacher bashing has, unfortunately, spread to youngsters in schools as the recent


catalogue of physical attacks on teachers will testify. If grown-ups have no respect for the
teaching profession, young people can hardly be expected to think any differently. The circle
is then squared when, as well as experienced, competent teachers being driven out of the
profession by the increased pressure and stress; fewer students are applying for teacher-
training courses.

Increased salaries are certainly welcome, but they are not the complete answer to a
sector in crisis. Addressing the standing of the profession in the eyes of the public is crucial
to encourage experienced teachers to remain in the classroom and to make it an attractive
career option for potential teachers once again.

It might also be a good idea for the relevant ministers to go on a fact-finding mission and
find out from teachers in schools, rather than relying overmuch on advisers, as to what
changes could be brought about to improve the quality of the education service. Initiatives in
the educational' field surprisingly come from either politicians who know little about
classroom practice or educational theorists who know even less, but are more dangerous
because they work in the rarefied air of universities largely ignorant of classroom practice.

Making sure that nobody without recent classroom experience is employed as a teacher-
trainer at any tertiary institution would further enhance the teaching profession. If someone
does not have practical experience in the classroom, they cannot in all seriousness
propound theories about it. Instead of being given sabbaticals to write books or papers,
lecturers in teacher-training establishments should be made to spend a year at the
blackboard or, these days, the whiteboard. This would give them practical insights into
current classroom practice. Student teachers could then be given the chance to come and
watch the specialists in the classroom: a much more worthwhile experience than the latter
sitting thinking up ideas far removed from the classroom. Then we would have fewer
initiatives like the recent government proposal to teach thinking in school. Prima facie, this
is a laudable recommendation. But, as any practising teacher will tell you, this is done in
every class. Perhaps someone needs to point out to the academic who thought up the
scheme that the wheel has been around for some time.

In the educational field, there is surprisingly constant tension between the educational
theorists and government officials on the one hand, who would like to see teachers
marching in unison to some greater Utopian abstraction and, on the other, practising
teachers. Any experienced classroom practitioner knows that the series of initiatives on
teaching and learning that successive governments have tried to foist on schools and
colleges do not work.

Questions 16-22

Complete the summary below of the first four paragraphs of Reading Passage 2.

Choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage for each answer.

Write your answers in boxes 16-22 on your answer sheet.

Is it surprising that there is a 16 .................... of teachers? Schools do not have enough


teachers, but what are the reasons for this? To begin with, fewer students are going
into 17.................... after finishing school. But this is not young people's fault.
The 18 .................... of teaching has been under constant attack over the last ten years. The
government's lack of respect for the profession is 19 .................... Moreover, administratively,
the flow of bureaucracy is 20 .................... Even pupils in schools have no respect for those
who teach them, as a 21 .................... series of assaults on teachers shows. The growing
strain and stress means that, as well as fewer applications for teacher-training courses,
teachers who have experience and are 22 .................... are also being driven out.
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16 shortage: In the passage the phrase is plural, teacher shortages, but in the summary the singular form
is required.

17 teacher-training: This part of the summary is a clear paraphrase of part of paragraph one in the
passage. Remember that hyphenated words count as one word.

18 profession: The answer is in paragraph one. Here, the noun phrase has been changed; the teaching
profession in the passage needs to be changed to 'the profession of teaching' to fit in the summary.

19 obvious: Again, the noun phrase has been changed. At the start of paragraph two the passage refers
to the government's obvious contempt for the teaching profession. The phrase has been changed in the
summary, but the form of the word needed to fill the space need not be changed. (See 18 above.)

20 increasing: The answer is in paragraph three. The word needed to complete the space is the same as
that in the passage, although in the passage it functions as an adjective and in the summary as a verb
form.

21 recent: The answer is in paragraph four. Here, it is important to recognize the synonyms used in the
summary for parts of the text: 'series' in the summary replaces catalogue in the text. Even if you do not
know the meaning of certain words, you should be able to work out their meaning from their position in
the relative sentences in the original text and the summary.

Questions 23-29

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 2?

In boxes 23-29 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

23 More students are entering teacher-training courses.


The opposite is true. In the first paragraph it states: fewer students are entering teacher-training courses.

24 The government is right to be surprised that there are problems in


schools.
The answer is to be found in the last sentence of the first paragraph. The writer is being ironic, given the facts stated in the
paragraph there should be no surprise: And the government wonders... .

25 Teachers are too weighed down by administrative duties to stir up trouble.


The answer is in the third paragraph. This is what cynics would have us believe; the writer does not say if this is actually the case or
not.

26 All teachers are cynics.


The answer is in the last sentence of the third paragraph: 'all teachers' is not the same as most teachers. Note that 'must' indicates
deduction/conclusion and therefore opinion.

27 Politicians are not as dangerous as educational theorists, who know even


less than the former about educational theory.
The answer is in the sixth paragraph. The problem here is the negatives. It is important to check that the text and the statement
have the same meaning; in this case 'politicians are not as dangerous as educational theorists' has the same meaning as politicians
who know little about classroom practice or educational theorists who know even less, but are more dangerous.

28 Any experienced classroom practitioner knows that the initiatives on


teaching and learning that governments have tried to impose on schools do
not work.
The answer is in the eighth paragraph. The statement is a paraphrase of the last sentence, but it is important to check carefully that
there are no differences in questions of this kind; in this case the meaning is the same.

29 The government's attitude with regard to teachers is of great interest to the


general public.
There is no mention of this claim in the text.
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Question 30

Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 30 on your answer sheet.

30 Which one of the following is the most suitable title for the passage?
A Politicians and teachers.
x B A profession undervalued.
C Recruitment difficulties in the teaching profession.
D Teacher-training needs improvement.
The theme throughout the passage is that the teaching profession does not get the respect it deserves
from a number of sources. The other headings all refer to only specific sections of the text.

EVA HESSE
Three Pieces Plus...
The Guggenheim Art Gallery, New York.

In one corner of the room is a mass of tangled rope suspended from the ceiling with some sections dangling to the
floor;
the first of three encountered pieces of work that have a resounding impact on the viewing public.
It stops one in one's tracks: how dare it be there - this mess of nothing! It is like arranged chaos: that is, the confused
mixture of varying sizes of rope, dipped in latex, looks as though it might collapse in a heap on the floor at any
moment. At the same time, it is held up and in place by a series of fine wires and hooks, giving it a strange sense
of ... order.
A deliberate challenge to the forces of gravity. It is a shambles. It makes one laugh. It is play. It is drawing in the air!
Maybe it can move or dance about! Yet, it is hardly there, like something imagined.

The materials are cheap and disposable. Impermanent, like ... the people looking at it. But it is very definitely present!
It has a presence. You can see that people want to walk into it and become a part of it - but alas! The gallery guard is
hovering nearby.

To the left of this piece, running along the wall, in two rows on top of each other, is a long series of lid-less boxes.
They are mounted at average nose height and are made of fibreglass which gives them a shiny, almost moist,
appearance. They are the colour of murky water, absorbing the gallery light with an opacity similar to that of mucus or
tree gum.

They look as though they might be soft and malleable to touch, with their irregular edges and non-conforming sides.
This gives the overall impression that they could fall in on themselves or slide down the wall. The structure is
puzzlingly familiar, similar to things in the world, and yet it is not like anything in particular.

In the adjacent corner is the third piece, consisting of a collection of nine cylindrical open-ended objects, slit part way
from end to end. They give the appearance of being randomly placed - some lying, some leaning on the wall or on
each other-all seeming somehow to be related. Like the boxes, they are a multiple of each other. Made of fibreglass
with a shiny surface they look almost like abandoned pods that had once been alive. The associations seem to jump
around in one's head, running between sensations of delight and pleasure, violence and discomfort.

One has to bend down to be with them more. Driven by the desire to physically interact, one is almost forced to stoop
further so that one can touch, or indeed taste, this intriguing surface; but no, the guard is there.

The visual language apparent in these artworks is unfamiliar, as is the artist, Eva Hesse. Her work is as exciting as it
is disturbing. For many, Hesse's sculpture refers essentially to the body. This, perhaps, does not seem surprising
when it is in relation to the body that women are generally assessed. Hesse died of a brain tumour in 1970 at the age
of 34. It must be an inescapable inevitability, therefore, that her work was read in the context of its time where it has,
until recently, been largely abandoned.
Given the influence of feminism on our cultural consciousness since that period, it seems paramount that we avoid, or
at the very least attempt to avoid, those dramatic facts about her life and family history. We may then be freed from a
limited and narrow translation of her art.

Hesse's work is much more ambiguous and funny than some rather literal readings would have us believe. Perhaps it
is precisely because her use of metaphor in her work is so subtle that it escapes the one-line definitions we so love to
employ.

We are now, more than ever, hungry for the cult of 'personality'. While Hesse and others before and since can more
than fill that demand, we seem in danger of focusing on the life of the artist and not on the life of the art.

When looking at Hesse's sculpture, drawings and paintings, the most interesting and challenging aspects lie just
there - within the work. And this must be the starting point for any interpretation, not her complex life or untimely
death.
Questions 31-36

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3?

In boxes 31-36 on your answer sheet, write

YES if the statement agrees with the claims of the writer

NO if the statement contradicts the claims of the writer

NOT GIVEN if it is impossible to say what the writer thinks about this

Example Answer

The Guggenheim Art Gallery


Yes
is in New York.

31 The first piece of Hesse's art has little effect on visitors to the gallery. No
The answer is in the first paragraph and the key word resounding is in the first sentence; the writer says that the first piece of
Hesse's work has a great effect on visitors.

32 The order inherent in the first piece of Hesse's art is essential to the
understanding of her work. Not Given
The first paragraph describes the first piece of art; order and the lack of order are described in this paragraph, but the writer does
not say that understanding of order is necessary to understand the art.

33 The second piece of art by Hesse is inferior in several significant ways to


the first. Not Given
The second piece of art is described in the second paragraph, but there is no comparison made with the first piece described, so we
do not know if the writer thinks the second piece of art is inferior to the first or not.

34 The second piece by Hesse has several design faults that attract the
public. Not Given
The answer is in the second paragraph. The irregular edges and non-conforming sides are not design faults, but an aspect of the
art. Whether or not the public is attracted to this aspect is not mentioned.

35 The third piece of work arouses different emotions. Yes


The answer is to be found in the fourth paragraph in the last sentence: The associations seem to jump around in one's head,
running between sensations of delight and pleasure, violence and discomfort. i.e.. the art arouses a range of emotions.

36 Of the three pieces of Hesse's work described, the first is the writer's
favourite. Not Given
In the passage the writer describes three pieces of Hesse's work as well as describing her work in general, but we are not told that
the first, or any of the pieces, is preferred by the writer. There is no mention of a favourite piece.

Show Answer - Hide Answer


Question3 37-40

Choose the appropriate letter A-D and write it in box 30 on your answer sheet.

37 According to the writer, Eva Hesse

x A is not a well-known artist.

B is very familiar, as is her work.

C is not a good artist.

D is strongly attracted by visual language.

The answer is in the first sentence of the sixth paragraph: The visual language apparent in these
artworks is unfamiliar, as is the artist. B is therefore incorrect as the opposite is true; C is not
mentioned and D applies to people who see her work, not to the artist herself.

38 The writer concludes that

A Hesse's work is timeless.

x B the understanding of Hesse's work has until recently been interpreted only in the context of its time.

C Hesse's work is a product of her time and is not relevant to the modern world.

D Hesse's work is easy to read.

The answer is in the last sentence of the sixth paragraph:...her work was read in the context of its time
where it has, until recently, been largely abandoned. B is almost a paraphrase of this section of the
text. There is no mention of A, and although the first part of C may be correct, there is no mention of
the second part. D is not correct because in the eighth paragraph the opposite is implied.

39 The writer thinks that it is .................. to define Hesse's work.

A not difficult

B essential

C not important.
x D not easy

The writer's opinion about how easy it is to define Hesse's work can be found in the final three
paragraphs: her work is both subtle and challenging, so not easy to define.

40 In the present climate,


x A we may lose sight of Hesse's art and focus on her life.
B personality is very important.
C art cults are in vogue.
D we may lose sight of Hesse's life and focus on her art.
The answer is in the penultimate paragraph: We are now, more than ever, hungry for the cult of
'personality'... we seem in danger of focusing on the life of the artist, and not on the life of the art. D is
therefore wrong as the opposite is true; B is incorrect as 'personality' has a different meaning when
with inverted commas to when it is without them; C is untrue as only one cult is mentioned.

Writing - Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The bar chart below shows the results of a survey conducted by a personnel department at a
major company. The survey was carried out on two groups of workers: those aged from 18-30 and
those aged 45-60, and shows factors affecting their work performance.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information shown below.

You should write at least 150 words.

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